The Lemon Marmalade Food

LEMON MARMALADE

Steps:

• Chill a saucer in the freezer, ready for checking the setting point of your jam. Wash the lemons and remove the top 'button' which would have been attached to the stalk. Put the lemons in a large saucepan with 2.5 litres water. Bring to the boil, then cover the pan and simmer for 2½ hrs or until the lemon skins are lovely and tender, and can be pierced easily with a fork.
• When the lemons are cool enough to handle, remove from the saucepan. Measure the cooking liquid - you'll need 1.5 litres in total. If you don't quite have this, make up the difference with water. If you have too much liquid, bring to the boil and reduce to the required amount.
• Halve the lemons and remove the pips - reserving the pips and any lemon juice that oozes out during the process. Cut the lemon peel and flesh into strips, as thick or thin as you like. Put all of this, including any juices, back into the pan. Put the pips in a small piece of muslin and tie up with string. Add this to the pan, as the pips will aid the setting process of the jam.
• Add the sugar and bring to the boil, stirring until it has completely dissolved. Boil rapidly for about 20 mins until setting point is reached. Test the setting point by dropping a little marmalade onto the chilled saucer, allowing it to cool for 1 min, then pushing gently with your finger. If the marmalade crinkles, the setting point is reached; if not, continue to boil and check again in a few mins.
• Leave to cool for 10-15 mins (this will prevent the lemon shreds sinking to the bottoms of the jars), remove the muslin bag, then gently stir in one direction to disperse any scum (small air bubbles on the surface). Pour jam into warm sterilised jars and seal straight away.

HOMEMADE LEMON MARMALADE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Using a vegetable peeler, remove the yellow part of the lemon peel in strips. Cut strips into 1 x 1/8-inch pieces.
• With a knife, cut off any remaining white membrane, or pith, from peeled lemons.
• Cut peeled lemons crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices.
• In a heavy, non-aluminum 5-quart kettle or Dutch oven , combine lemon peel, sliced fruit, and water. Cover and refrigerate for 3 to 4 hours.
• Place lemon mixture over high heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
• Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lemon mixture is soft, about 1 hour.
• Add sugar to lemon mixture and increase heat to medium-high; stir until sugar dissolves.
• Heat to boiling and reduce heat just so mixture boils gently. Boil uncovered, stirring frequently, until a candy thermometer registers 220 F, or 45 to 60 minutes have passed, and mixture has thickened.
• Prepare 3 (1-pint) canning jars with their lids and bands for processing, following manufacturer's directions.
• Spoon marmalade into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch space at the top of the jars.
• Wipe jar rims clean. Seal with lids and bands.
• Process jars in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
• Cool jars on a wire rack. Label and store in a cool, dry place.

CITRUS MARMALADE

Steps:

• Cut the citrus: Using a sharp knife, slice off the top and bottom of the citrus so it sits sturdily on the cutting board. Slice off the peel and white pith in sections, starting at the top and following the curve of the fruit. (You should have a pile of peels and a few naked fruit.)
• Thinly slice the peels (with the pith) no thinner than 1/8 inch and no thicker than 1/4 inch, place them in a large bowl and set aside.
• Halve the fruit and remove any visible seeds. Thinly slice about 1/4-inch thick (white membrane and all), removing any seeds you might have missed. Add the fruit to the peels, and cover with 3 to 5 cups of water, taking note of how much water you used. Let this sit for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. (This will help extract the pectin slowly as well as soften the peels.)
• Make the marmalade: Place a small plate in the refrigerator to chill. (You'll use this later.)
• Place the peels, fruit and water in a large pot. Add enough water to bring the total to 6 cups and bring to a strong simmer over medium-high heat.
• Cook the citrus until the peels have begun to soften and turn translucent, and the liquid has reduced by about three-fourths, 40 to 50 minutes.
• Add sugar and any add-ins and continue to cook, stirring occasionally at first, then more frequently as the marmalade cooks and the juices thicken. Continue until most of the liquid has evaporated and the peels are totally softened and almost completely translucent, another 40 to 50 minutes.
• As the marmalade cooks, the liquid reduces, the sugars thicken and the natural pectins activate. You'll notice the liquid go from a rapid, rolling boil with smaller bubbles to a slow, thick, tarlike boil with larger bubbles: This is the stage at which it's most important to stir constantly along the bottom of the pot to prevent scorching and sticking. (Sugar is heavier than water and will concentrate at the bottom of the pot, making the fruit more likely to burn.) It's also the stage at which splattering may occur, so take care in stirring.
• When the marmalade reaches this point, add lemon juice and continue to cook, stirring constantly until the jam has returned to its previously thickened state, about another 5 minutes. At this stage, the mixture should look thick and viscous with bits of the peel floating around. The peels will never break into the liquid as with a jam: This is O.K.
• To test the jam's thickness, spoon a bit onto the chilled plate, return it to the refrigerator and chill for 2 minutes. Drag your finger through it: It should hold its shape on either side without appearing watery or runny. If it's not there yet, cook it for a few more minutes.
• Remove from heat and discard the vanilla bean, if used. Divide among jars, leaving 1/4 inch of space at the top, and seal immediately. Can the marmalade (our How to Make Jam guide has detailed instruction), or store in the refrigerator.

LEMON MARMALADE

Steps:

• Peel rind from lemons and grapefruit; cut into thin strips, about 1 in. long. Set aside fruit., In a Dutch oven, combine water and citrus peel. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 5 minutes or until peel is softened. Remove from heat and set aside., Trim white pith from reserved lemons and grapefruit; discard pith. Cut lemons and grapefruit into segments, discarding membranes and seeds. Chop pulp, reserving juices; stir into reserved peel mixture., Add pectin. Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar; return to a full rolling boil. Boil and stir 1 minute., Remove from heat; skim off foam. Ladle hot mixture into six hot half-pint jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars; screw on bands until fingertip tight., Place jars into canner with simmering water, ensuring that they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil; process for 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

MEYER LEMON MARMALADE

Steps:

• Note that the proportion of lemon segments to water to sugar is 1:1:1. So if you don't have a kitchen scale and don't weigh your lemons to begin with, as you proceed through this recipe keep in mind these proportions. Your 2 1/2 lbs of lemons should yield 6 cups of chopped lemon. 6 cups of chopped lemon will be cooked first with 6 cups of water, and then later 6 cups of sugar are added. You can also do this recipe with 4 cups of chopped lemons, 4 cups of water, and 4 cups of sugar. Do not double the recipe. Do not reduce the sugar (if you want a reduced sugar recipe, use a different recipe); the sugar is needed for the jelly to set.
• PREPARING THE FRUIT.
• Scrub the lemons clean. Discard any that are moldy or damaged.
• Prepare the lemons. Cut 1/4 inch off from the ends of the lemons. Working one at a time, stand a lemon on end. Cut the lemon in half lengthwise. Cut each lemon half into several segments, lengthwise. As you cut the lemons into segments, if you can, pull off any exposed membranes. Just get the ones that are easy to get to, ignore the rest. When you've cut down to the final segment, cut away the pithy core. Remove all seeds from the segments. Reserve the seeds and any removed membrane or pith. You will need them to make pectin. Cut each lemon segment crosswise into even pieces to make little triangles of lemon peel and pulp.
• Put all of the seeds, membranes and pith you removed from the lemons into a bag fashioned out of two layers of cheesecloth or a muslin jelly bag.
• FIRST STAGE OF COOKING.
• Place the lemon segments and water into a large, wide pot.
• Place the pectin bag in the pot with the fruit pulp and secure to the pot handle.
• Bring mixture to a medium boil on medium high heat. Let boil, uncovered, for about 25-35 minutes, until the peels are soft and cooked through. Test one of the lemon peel pieces by eating it. It should be soft. If it is still chewy, keep cooking until soft.
• Remove from heat.
• Remove the pectin bag, place the pectin bag in a bowl and let cool until it is comfortable to touch.
• ADD THE PECTIN AND SUGAR.
• Once your pectin bag has cooled to the point you can handle it, if you want, squeeze it like play-doh to extract any extra pectin. This is not necessary but will help ensure a good set. (I like to wear latex-type gloves for this part.) You should be able to get a tablespoon or two more from the bag. It has the consistency of sour cream. Return this pectin to the pan with the lemon mixture.
• Measure out your sugar and add it to the pan with the lemon mixture.
• SECOND STAGE OF COOKING.
• Heat the jelly mixture on medium high and bring it to a rapid boil. Secure a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. The marmalade may take anywhere from 20 to 35 minutes or so to be ready to pour out. After about 15 minutes, start checking it frequently.
• There are two ways to test that the marmalade is ready to pour out into jars - the mixture reaching a temperature of 220-222°F (8-10°F above the boiling point at your altitude) and a bit of it put on a chilled plate "wrinkling up" when you push it with your finger tip. I do both.
• For the wrinkle test, put several small plates into the freezer. As the jelly temperature reaches 218°F, start testing it by placing a small amount of the hot jelly on a chilled plate. If the jelly spreads out and thins immediately, it isn't ready. If it holds its shape a bit, like an egg yolk, that's a good sign. Push up against it with your finger tip. If the jelly sample wrinkles at all, it is time to take the jelly off the heat and pour it out into jars.
• When you use a candy thermometer to test the temperature of your mixture, make sure the probe is NOT touching the bottom of the pan. Make sure that the indentation on the probe (with modern candy thermometers this is about an inch and a half from the bottom of the probe) is actually surrounded by the mixture. This may mean that you have to tilt the pan to one side, to cover the probe sufficiently to get a good reading.
• CANNING.
• While the marmalade is in its second cooking stage, rinse out your canning jars, dry them, and place them, without lids, in a 200°F oven. They should be in the oven at least 10 minutes before using them.
• As the time approaches for the marmalade to be done, boil some water in a tea pot. Put the jar lids in a glass or ceramic bowl and pour the boiling water over them to sterilize.
• Once the jelly has reached 220°F or its "wrinkly" stage, remove the jelly pot from the heat. Carefully ladle the jelly into the jars, one at a time, leaving 1/4 inch head space at the top of the jars for a vacuum seal. Wipe the rim clean with a clean, wet paper towel. Place the lid on the jar, securing with a jar ring. Work quickly.
• Allow the jars to sit overnight. You will hear them make a popping sound as a vacuum seal is created.
• Even if the jelly is not firm as it goes into the jar (it shouldn't be), it should firm up as it cools.

ABSOLUTELY FAIL-PROOF EASY MARMALADE

Steps:

• Take the 6 citrus fruits and wash well, removing any blemishes.
• Cut into quarters, and place in a food processor.
• Chop until finely ground, skin and all.
• For an optional extra add some crystallized ginger.
• Boil with the 1 kilo of sugar, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for 20 minutes.
• It splatters, so be careful.
• This quantity fills about 5 x 340 gram jars.
• Do not double the ingredients, rather make two batches.
• It never goes dark and lasts for up to 6 months in the refrigerator without the need to sterilize the bottles.

MEYER LEMON MARMALADE

Steps:

• Halve lemons crosswise and remove seeds. Tie seeds in a cheesecloth bag. Quarter each lemon half and thinly slice. Combine with bag of seeds and water in a 5-quart nonreactive heavy pot and let mixture stand, covered, at room temperature 24 hours.
• Bring lemon mixture to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until reduced to 4 cups, about 45 minutes. Stir in sugar and boil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally and skimming off any foam, until a teaspoon of mixture dropped on a cold plate gels, about 15 minutes.
• Ladle hot marmalade into jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of top. Wipe rims with dampened cloth and seal jars with lids.
• Put jars in a water-bath canner or on a rack set in a deep pot. Add enough hot water to cover jars by 1 inch and bring to a boil. Boil jars, covered, 5 minutes and transfer with tongs to a rack. Cool jars completely.

THE LEMON MARMALADE

Steps:

• First weigh the lemons, or have them weighed at the fruit market, as you'll be using two-thirds their weight in sugar to make the puckery jam. Slice the lemons fairly thin and toss them into a heavy, shallow pan with the prescribed sugar and enough water to barely cover them.
• Over a lively flame, stirring constantly, cook the mixture for a few minutes, then lower the flame and, still stirring, cook for 20 minutes or so, until the water has evaporated and the fruit is softened and trapped in a glossy, thick syrup.
• Let the marmalade cool and then portion it out into 2 or 3 jars with tight-fitting lids to store in the refrigerator. The confection will stay nicely for a week to ten days.